Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,831 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4/earnings + guidance — Verizon beat Q4 EPS estimates and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.90–$4.95, reinforcing cash flow and dividend coverage that investors prize. This underpins the stock’s recent upward move and supports dividend-focused buying. MarketBeat VZ overview
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price target lift — Oppenheimer set a new $56 price target on VZ, suggesting upside from current levels and giving investors confidence in consensus estimates and valuation support. Oppenheimer price target
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership/enterprise traction — Coverage of Kodiak AI’s milestones highlights expanded partnerships with Verizon, signaling enterprise & network monetization opportunities beyond core wireless services. That diversification can boost long-term revenue potential. Kodiak AI partnership mention
• Neutral Sentiment: Subscriber momentum — Analysts note solid postpaid phone adds and fixed wireless subscriber growth, which improve churn and lifetime value but have yet to fully translate into stronger service revenue growth. This is constructive for ARPU stability and churn metrics. Zacks subscriber growth article
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue ceiling risk — Despite subscriber gains, analysts and company commentary expect wireless service revenues to remain roughly flat near-term, which could cap share-price upside until service revenue or margin expansion resumes. Zacks revenue outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend/resilience narrative — Coverage highlighting Verizon as a high-yield, U.S.-focused defensive stock has driven demand from income-focused investors amid geopolitical volatility; this supports a higher valuation multiple relative to risk-off peers. MarketBeat dividend safe-haven piece

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $51.36 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.81. The company has a market cap of $216.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.